Photos & Story by: Kimberly Kanuck

Last night Toto entertained adoring fans at the quaint and intimate Easton State Theatre. The band played all of their hits and songs that span the past four decades. They kicked off the show with “Only the Children,” which flowed into “Hold the Line.” By that point, the crowd was standing and singing along! There were some exciting solos throughout the show. David Paich performed a powerful piano solo during “Pamela.” Steve Lukather dedicated his heartfelt and passionate guitar solo, of the Jimi Hendrix song “Red House,” to a friend that had passed.  The dueling keyboards during “Great Expectations” excited the crowd. And when they finally played “Rosanna,” as one of the final songs, the crowd cheered and stood again to sing along.

As a fan of 80’s music, throughout the night, I learned a lot of interesting facts about the history of these musicians and their career highlights. Their talents span the decades and they have left a mark in areas such as music composition, writing and performances. For example, in the movie “The Lion King,” Toto singer Joseph Williams sang the songs “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro was one of writers of Michael Jackson’s song “Human Nature.” And guitarist/singer Steve Lukather was one on the writers of “She’s a Beauty” performed by The Tubes.

Joseph said that he’s known these guys since he was a kid in the San Fernando Valley. That bond and friendship was evident throughout their performance. They had fun together, acknowledged each other’s talents, and their music and vocals were tight and polished. When it came time for the encore, they didn’t waste time for cheering from their fans. They knew that their fans wanted to hear their top hit “Africa,” and they got right into the performance. As you can imagine, the fans were standing, cheering, singing and swaying. Toto did not disappoint and left their fans with an engaging rendition of “Africa” with harmonious vocals, bits of improvisation, and even a percussion solo by Lenny Castro.

In case you missed the show last night, they’ll be back in PA on June 18th in Wilkes-Barre. And they’ll wrap up their US tour on September 16th in Atlantic City. The band will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary in 2018! They will kick off their 2018 anniversary tour in February in Europe. For more information, please visit Totoofficial.com. For upcoming shows at the beautiful and historic State Theatre, please visit http://statetheatre.org/.

Toto Links

http://totoofficial.com/

https://www.facebook.com/totoband

https://twitter.com/toto99com

https://www.youtube.com/user/Toto99com